TT: Green tea with peppermint and ginger juice for energy and weight loss

Today’s Tip is about a great way to get an energy boost a few hours after breakfast. Green tea has caffeine (although not as much as black tea), so it’s best to prepare this drink at least ten or twelve hours before bedtime (that’s how long caffeine stays in your system).

All the ingredients in this drink help with both energy and weight loss. There is some debate around peppermint regarding its efficiency as a weight loss aid, but studies have shown that the flavanols in the catechin family in green tea (flavanols are polyphenolic flavonoid compounds, themselves a subset of antioxidants), combined with its caffeine content help the body burn more fats, and ginger contains gingerols and shogaols (other powerful antioxidants) which stimulate digestion and fat burning. Also, both green tea and ginger improve insulin sensitivity and help regulate blood sugar levels, which, in turn, helps prevent type-2 diabetes. Ginger is also an appetite suppressant.

If you decide to make this tea, heat the water to its boiling point, leave some peppermint in for 10 minutes, and then heat up the water again to some 80°C/175°F and let the green tea steep for another 5 minutes. Then add the ginger juice. The resulting tea tastes only like peppermint and ginger, and you may miss a more full-bodied flavor profile, but on the other hand with each sip you’ll get a sense of how refreshing this tea is for the body and mind, which is wonderful.

Disclaimer: I am not a medical or health practitioner, and no part of This Blog, or the websites and products I mention and link to on This Blog, is intended as professional medical or health advice, and should not be considered as such. Consult with your doctor(s) about starting any course of treatment, taking any supplements, or changing any (dietary, exercise, etc.) routines. Note that natural supplements and even some foods may interfere with certain medications. Here are my Full Terms and Conditions.

This beverage is a great pick-me-up, but don’t overdo it. Green tea, for one, can interfere with iron absorption and can even hurt the liver. And ginger contains natural salicylates which act as a blood thinner (like aspirin). That can sometimes pose problems, especially before surgery or if you have a bleeding disorder. Other than that, ginger is generally safe as a food taken in moderation, but it does have other side effects as well if you ingest too much. And, as a general comment, keep in mind that for all the good they can do, too many antioxidants can be a bad thing. Here’s a short post about it.

Back to the beauty of green tea, in moderate quantities (for some people, this may mean less than a cup a day) it’s a wonderful thing. The caffeine and L-theanine in green tea are brain boosters, stimulating your cognitive skills in several ways, from helping you focus better (much like peppermint tea) to helping with your memory, which is great news for past-40 folks who are beginning to actually notice a tiny decline in their memory functions (note that part of that can be a result of stress). Scientific research also shows that polyphenols of the catechin family in green tea can help reduce the risk of dementia by fighting oxidative stress. As a side note, catechins are found in good amounts in a number of fruits, as well as in wine, cocoa, and true (Camellia sinensis) teas. Of all these sources, green tea has the highest levels of flavanols in the catechin family.

Green tea and ginger also keep your blood vessels happy, by lowering total cholesterol, LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, and triglycerides, and preventing the oxidation of LDL cholesterol and its subsequent inflammation effects in the arteries. As I mentioned earlier, they can also help, to a certain extent, reduce the risk of type-2 diabetes. And, being such a good source of antioxidants, green tea and ginger may also reduce the risk of various cancers. Also, the antioxidant phytochemicals in green tea and ginger fight against inflammation in the body.

Note that while ginger may help with nausea if you’re pregnant, it can also increase the risk of miscarriage. As with many things (note as well my warning paragraph to my post on chamomile tea), it’s always advisable to ask your doctor(s) if certain foods, drinks, herbs, or supplements are okay for pregnant women and/or in what conditions you should be using them (or not) and if they work (or not) with your medical history. Chamomile, for instance, contains phytoestrogens and is not recommended for women who had or have cancers of the breast or of female genital organs, or who have or had endometriosis or uterine fibroids. It may also not be recommended if you have pollen allergies. And then there are other warnings for chamomile, such as one for people on birth control pills.

Okay, that said, if you’re not pregnant it may be time to enjoy this combo of a true tea (from the Camellia sinensis plant) with peppermint and ginger.

Disclosure: This blog post contains some affiliate links, at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I am also a Zazzle Associate and designer, and I earn commissions when you buy products through my referral links. All affiliate links on this blog are identified as such. Here’s my Full Disclosure.

I much prefer loose-leaf tea over tea bags, but if you can get plant-based, microplastics-free pyramid tea bags, that’s even better. It saves you the hassle of dealing with tea egg tongs (a.k.a. snap-ball tea infusers), which can become complicated if you’re making several cups at once, as I am (being the official tea master of my family). Teatulia comes to the rescue with such premium pyramid tea bags and a selection of several organic teas (true and herbal), including green tea and peppermint. They are all available at the image link below.

You also need ginger juice for this drink. Note that this will not be homogenized juice, and the tiny bits of ginger will drift to the bottom. Make sure you shake the bottle every time you pour from it, and make sure you do not pour a whole lot (usually you’ll know how much by the taste). The ginger juice shown below is produced in Ogden, Utah.

Enjoy, and stay healthy!

Oh, if you’re a tea fiend already, here are two of my beverage coasters with tea quotes, with an illustration of a vintage cup with red roses.

To a happier, healthier life,

🙂 Mira

P.S. Pins and shares are much appreciated! 🙂